Every fall, hundreds of companies come to Purdue to
recruit students for internships, Co-Ops, and full-time positions in a career
fair called Industrial Roundtable (IR). They set up on Memorial Mall
to talk to students and accept resumes, as a part of the nation’s largest
student run career fairs!
During IR, we talked to Brittany Ammerman, a junior in Computer Engineering with a minor in
Manufacturing; Ilana Roth, a junior
in Mechanical Engineering; Madalyn Alm,
a senior in Biological Engineering; Deb
Hughes, a junior in Biological Engineering; and Rachel Baker, a senior in Multidisciplinary Engineering (Diversity
& Inclusion Engineering) with minors in LGBT Studies and Political Science.
Here is a glimpse into the experience of some students that went to IR:
What brings you to
IR today?
I am at
IR today looking for an internship for next summer!
-Brittany
Ammerman
I
hope to get interviews! Interviews for full time positions for graduating in
May.
-Madalyn Alm
A
job would be nice for the summer. And to improve my people skills, to talk to
new people, and to see what companies are looking for.
-Ilana Roth
What did you do to
prepare for IR?
 |
| Deb Hughes |
I attended a lot of resume workshops, mock interviews, and went
to many info sessions for a lot of the companies to hear about what they do. There
were some that I was like “eh, maybe I don’t really align with your company all
that well.” Those were all helpful in preparing me for today.
-Deb Hughes
I made a spreadsheet! Made sure that I fully browsed all of the different companies that were going to be here, what majors they were
looking for, what requirements they have, if I needed to apply online or not.
Also, since my major is kind of weird, I ignored some of those
requirements and researched what the company actually does to see if I could
convince them to listen to me and take my resume. And then I applied
online to some companies, and now I’m here! So, a lot of research and spreadsheets!
-Rachel
Baker
I
do lots of research, went through the company list online, which ones apply to my
major for the opportunities I wanted and narrowed it down to the ones in the
industry I want. I’m looking at a lot in the medical devices and consulting and
then I went through my day, checked out what products they make, their values,
how long they’ve been around, what they say they want in leaders and in
interns, and I went to some company info sessions and networking nights to talk
to recruiters beforehand.
-Ilana
Roth
How have your
previous experiences at IR prepared you for this one?
 |
| Rachel Baker |
I kind of know the process, so I’m not as worried about it.
When I walk by a booth and they have a crazy long line, I can gage how
important it is or worthwhile it is to wait
-Rachel
Baker
From the past IRs, I learned to prepare beforehand. Attending
the workshops is very helpful.
-Deb
Hughes
The
biggest advice I’ve gotten from my past IRs is really just to apply online.
Even if you don’t apply for the right position, just getting in their system is
a good step and shows initiative.
-Brittany
Ammerman
The
first year was super intimidating, so just realizing that recruiters are normal
people, you don’t have to have your whole life figured out before you get here,
and then knowing what kind of questions they are going to ask. Learning all of
this before has helped for a good senior year experience, feeling comfortable
knowing what the expectations are and learning how to navigate - there are a lot of
people, so even just getting through from one side to another.
-Madalyn
Alm
What kind of jobs
are you looking for within your specific major?
Mechanical
Engineers (ME) can do most things as long as it’s in a ME type function, (manufacturing, research and development, quality, operations) -but I’m looking
more at the technical side.
-Ilana Roth
As
a Biological Engineer, I am looking for process jobs. There are different sides
of production – there’s the mechanical side, where you make sure the machines
are working well and you can program the equipment, and then there’s the biological
side, where you work with food that goes through the systems, how each part of
the equipment interacts with the food, the overall quality of the food, etc. I
am looking for food process jobs with an emphasis on product and not hardware.
-Madalyn
Alm
A lot of consulting companies and non-profit/government
work. So, kind of a wide variety!
-Rachel
Baker
What advice would
you give someone coming to IR for the first time?
Be yourself. It’s cliché but it’s important to not
compromise any of your interests or who you are, whether it’s how you dress or
present yourself to companies. Also, especially if you’re looking for an
internship, don’t be afraid to go up to a table that doesn’t have anyone there.
Practice your pitch, hear what they want to do. I’ve gotten really good offers
just by diverging from companies I thought I wanted to talk to and had really
good, wonderful conversations that didn’t make me wait two hours. They also are
willing to have a more in-depth conversation with you because there aren’t 50
people in line, waiting to talk to them.
-Rachel
Baker
Don’t wear heavy jackets! It’s always really hot. And carry
a water bottle! That’s my advice.
-Deb
Hughes
My
biggest piece of advice would probably be just to relax and smile. When you go
up to a recruiter, don’t just overload with information. Ask about their day.
They are having a tough day too. Sometimes that kind, casual conversation can
go a long way, and shows that you’re personable, and they don’t always get
that. And then apply online! Apply online before you go talk to a company
because half the time they are just going to tell you to apply online.
-Brittany
Ammerman
Don’t
get stressed out by the people around you, especially as a freshman or sophomore
with other people in line looking for full time jobs. Their experience is more
than yours, but they are looking for different jobs, so just play up whatever
experience you have and do your best.
-Ilana
Roth
No comments:
Post a Comment